South wind to finish an epic 5-day journey. Still, Morais found a way to say goodbye. Photo: Abilio Meneses

Some days shall never be forgotten. Espinho, north Portugal. Photo: Miguel Melo

During five days Espinho delivered top surfing and surfers like Frederico Morais, Tiago Pires, Vasco Ribeiro, Francisco Alves, together with the best local surfers, posted amazing performances and showed what Espinho surf is really about.

Since Christmas time, weather and surfing conditions were poor, meaning that south winds, rain and messy conditions were around. Occasional surfing happened, but mainly to maintain the salt level in our bodies. Like many of the surfers around this coast, for days we kept our eyes on the forecast, hoping to see wind and swell icons become green and change direction. Those couple of weeks felt like years and the only thing to do was to stay fit (an article about surfing fitness is currently being cooked) and make sure that when the right conditions appear, we are ready. Then, this just happened:

Espinho Surf session 1: Saturday, 20th January

After a promising Friday, Saturday’s early light finally brought some sun, offshore freezing wind and 1.5 meters waves. Espinho’s main surf spots were offering 2018’s first gifts. The sandbars were properly settled and long right-handers made surfers go nuts. Depending on the spot chosen, there were fast close-outs, impossible rides and crazy crashes, but also some nice and deep tubes, big turns and water being released. Locals took the lead of the scene and not even the cold water and cold air scared anyone. The line up was busy as predicted, especially being a weekend and after a long period without surfing. By the end of the day, it was all about painful arms, rusty legs and huge smiles.

Espinho Surf session 2: Sunday, 21st January

Sure some crowds showed up, but conditions were there. The swell dropped a bit, but still feld perfect and some head-height waves provided fun rides for everybody, or at least to a few of the most active surfers on the crowded lineup. Not even Sunday’s family plans changed that! Patience was definitely the best game to make the day worth it. And it did!

Espinho Surf session 3: Monday, 22nd January

The forecast still looked amazing and a building swell was on the way. Surfing was nice during the morning and crowds were back to normal standards. Wave after wave, the Casino’s right-handers offered several opportunities for surfers to boost their skills, now that their bodies were more adapted to the effort. Fun rides and, later on, occasional barrels made the day! The Surfing level was rising and made us think that some elite surfers must have been present.

Espinho Surf session 4: Tuesday, 23rd January

First look from the room felt like a Peniche, Kirra or Biarritz postcard. But it was happening here, 100% Espinho surf. Opened the window and the sound of the waves felt like a plane passing our front door. From the balcony, we saw perfect 2-2,5 meters waves breaking. Kinda like a scene from a Movie.

Portuguese surfing heroes, former WCT athlete Tiago “Saca” Pires and WQS athlete Vasco Ribeiro, escorted by local surfers António Rodrigues, Salvador Couto and Elohe Alvarez, were in the lineup and were surfing like gods. Huge drops, hollow sections, deep barrels and huge carves. The full package! Saca took some bombs and showed all his experience when riding Casino’s long barrels, finishing with his signature hacks. Vasco Ribeiro put down all his rail game and confirmed that he’s decided to qualify for the WCT next season. He came out the barrels clean and ready to apply his powerful hacks. A Local crew didn’t blink when it was time to pull into the barrel and shared the show with the big boys.

When the sunset hit Espinho’s bay the lineup started to empty out. It was time to walk home and get warm. Just a quick look back to capture the scene. A mental reminder of what this day was. For sure it will last.

At Dinner time we shared the stories of the day, pictures, and a bunch of more wow’s! Tasty food in a typical local Portuguese restaurant was an excellent way to finish the day.

Espinho Surf session 5: Wednesday, 24th January

The morning arrived with the swell dropping, but still with clean and good-looking conditions. Unfortunately, the south wind was expected to blow from lunchtime and conditions were expected to decline during the day.

From our house, we recognized this unique carving style that only could belong to Portugal’s favourite son- WCT surfer Frederico Morais. He was throwing buckets everywhere, sneaking through some barrels and launching crazy airs! Last year’s WCT 14th ranked surfer performance was simply sick to watch! Local surfers, Salvador Couto included, also caught some nice rides and together they offered an amazing morning show.

Around lunchtime, the predictions came true and the south breeze slowly started to make conditions worst. Espinho surf was over.

Some rain came later and the next day. No surfing. It’s time to digest this five-day journey of great surfing and excellent conditions that attracted some of Portugal’s best surfers. But there’s no need to be nostalgic about it. The forecast is showing some nice colors for the upcoming days, maybe not the same type of swell, but surfing will be on.